Well, Ive been overdosing on the Olympics lately. I hadnt even intended to watch much of themI *thought* I wasnt that interested, and I didnt know the names of any athletes who would be competing other than Michael Phelps and Dara Torres. But these Beijing games have captivated me, particularly the swimming, the womens gymnastics, and some of the track and field events. As I write, Im watching the medal ceremony for the final gymnastics event of the gamesthe womens balance beamwhere two American young ladies stand at the #1 and #2 spots on the podium. The beam proved to be sweet success at last for the cheerful Shawn Johnson, who had previously won 3 silver medals (in the team competition, all-around, and floor exercise)and she sure deserved the gold this time. Watching these gymnasts on the beam always makes me hold my breathhow in the world they can do handless somersaults in the air and land on one foot on a 4-inch wide beam without completely losing their nerve is beyond me. And Ive got to recognize Nastia Liukin, Shawns American teammate, who won the ultimate prize in womens gymnastics, the All-Around championship (contended over all 4 gymnastics events, the beam, vault, floor exercise, and uneven bars). She is as graceful as a ballerina and was a joy to watch. Following womens gymnastics this Olympics has taken me back to my childhood, when I used to watch, wonder, and get desperately emotionally involved in my favorite gymnasts (usually the Americans in their duels against the powerhouse Russians of the 90s).
And then, of course, theres Michael Phelps. What can i say that hasnt already been said? His feat (a never-before-achieved 8 golds in a single Olympics) is epic. Im talking Achilles, Odysseus, the stuff of legends. Over the course of his eight competitions, he had both dominant performancessetting world records in 7 of the swimsand close calls which were even more thrilling. In the 100m butterfly, in a finish that has since been endlessly replayed and dissected by freeze frame, Phelps won by the length of a pencil eraser. It didnt even look to the spectators eye, watching the race live, like he wonbut he got his fingertips to the wall in a last-second herculean effort to win by one one-hundredth of a second. To keep his historic streak alive. It was pure drama that I didnt even realize swimming was capable of! Now his quest (these Olympic commentators love the word in fact, they love Classical allusions in general, which I suppose is appropriate given the Ancient Greek origins of the Olympics) is over, and he can relax, give a bunch of interviews, and get about the business of deciding which endorsement deals to accept.
There are plenty more storylines to these Olympic games; these are just the ones Ive followed most closely. Any favorite events or moments for you guys.

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Remember how excited I was about the start of the football season?  Well, with the turn of the calendar from July to August, another significant milestone has been passed - the launch of the ninth annual Worlds Simplest Football Challenge!  The Worlds Simplest Football Challenge (or Football Challenge, for short) is our annual way to monetize the results of each weeks NFL contests in a fun family friendly atmosphere.
With over 60 participants last year, the Football Challenge has become a great way for all of my friends, my friends friends, spouses, coworkers to enjoy a little football and talk some smack along the way.  You see, the Football Challenge started out as a simple suicide pool way back in 1999.  However, anybody thats played a suicide pool can tell you their single biggest drawback - lose, and youre done for the year.  Wheres the fun in that?  Sure, you may make a sweet run every 3-4 years, but most times youre going to get stung by that Dolphins-New England upset in week 3 and have nothing left but your beer to cry in.
So, to make things more fun, I came up with a list of simple rules to stretch the game out and give some other people a better chance and other opportunities to win some green.  Heres what weve played with the last seven years:
1) Throw 5 bucks into the pot at the beginning of the NFL season.
2) Each week, pick the one team that youre absolutely sure will win their game.
3) You may not pick the same team two weeks in a row.
4) You may not pick the same team more that three times in the season.
At the end of 17 weeks, there will be four prizes:
60% of the pot: Person who had the best won/loss record
20% of the pot: Person with the second best won/loss record
15% of the pot: Person with the lowest overall margin of victory
5% of the pot: Person who finished dead last
In the case of a tie for any of these items, the tie breakers are, in order:
1) your won/loss record
2) total margin of victory (MOV) of games you picked (lower is better)
3) winning percentage of the teams you picked (lower is better, meaning you took more risk)
The money amount is obviously a matter of choice, but the real key here was the introduction of the Margin of Victory, or MOV.  The MOV isnt a comparison of how a team did against the spread going in to a game, its the actual score differential of the final result.  So, if you pick, say, the Steelers against the Browns and the Steelers win by a 41-0 margin, thats a lesser win than some team pulling off a 13-10 squeaker.
The best part about all of this is that it seems so darn easy.  Just pick one team (one team!) each week and all they have to do is win!  It should be a no-brainer, but trust me, it is not.  Out of 60+ people last year, we only had one person go undefeated all year.  The any-given-Sunday beauty of the NFL is the same reason that the game can be so maddening.
So, the launch of the Football Challenge is just one more milestone to the beginning of an NFL season, and its one that always excites me.  Next?  The fantasy football drafts!  And if you like these rules and happen to get your own pool started this year, let me know!  Id love to know that the Football Challenge is bringing some fun in to other peoples lives as well.

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We know Orsini was a finalist for the position, but there appears to be a complicating factor in the new hire proceedings, a separation of church and state so to speak. Likely in response to criticism of Kevin White and his role at Notre Dame, whoever the new Athletic Director is will likely have diminished power over football. In other words, we're seeing a separation of control of the football program from the rest of Notre Dame athletics.

And whether Orsini turned down Notre Dame or Notre Dame moved onto another candidate altogether, it's likely this emerging structure was a factor.

In concept, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for Notre Dame. It doesn't take much inside knowledge to understand that Notre Dame Football needs to be managed carefully and often separately from the rest of Notre Dame athletics. Notre Dame is a Big East member for all non-football sports, but remains an independent in football. Additionally, football generated revenues are used to fund scholarships and initiatives outside the football program. Finally, football will always be a large part of the Notre Dame identity. These factors highlight the need for separate treatment and one can understand why Notre Dame is considering moving down this path.

The hard part of a split power structure is to get the execution right. If not the AD, who does have the proper relationships, the negotiating skill, the experience and the charisma/courage to lead Notre Dame through the next BCS negotiations? Regardless of who the next Athletic Director is (Notre Dame sports are, on the whole, healthy,) whomever this decision maker is will to a great extent determine the direction of Notre Dame football and by proxy, the public face of Notre Dame.

But there's a cautionary tale in here as well. If there's a Athletic Director out there with the requisite gravitas and experience who can handle all aspects of Notre Dame athletics (including football,) Notre Dame shouldn't let the experiences of the last ten years preclude hiring someone who can run the whole enchilada. That reminds me of the girl who always picks a guy who's not like her last boyfriend. A simple rule of business and life is that you don't make choices to get away from something or not be something (that's being a reactionary,) you make them to move toward a goal or a vision for what you want to be. Often these are mistaken for the same thing. And one could argue that the recent demise of Notre Dame football came about when Fathers Malloy and Beauchamp exerted control over the football program and effectively ushered Lou out the door leaving us with a ten year mess. Malloy also nixed moves to hire bigger name coaches and essentially made the call to hire Willingham.

There are going to be some tough, but meaningful choices and things could move very soon, especially since inside news is going public. It will be interesting and telling to see how this drama plays out.

BTW, the journalist "hack award" of the day has to go to ESPN's Graham Watson, who, without citing a source or even mentioning any type of deal specifics has proclaimed that "Orsini turns down AD offer, stays at SMU." What offer.

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Or rather, Im scared for him. 
Watch him sprint and power himself into the air to win a header.  Its riveting stuff, but you cant help but physically wince.    He has a huge leap, and though not the the tallest of defenders, he is stunningly strong and brave attacking the ball   Vidas power has made him a cult figure among the United faithful.   But that reputation has come at some cost to the player. 
This season, Im wondering if well see a slightly different player than we have in the past two and a half years.
Vidic has suffered two serious concussions in the past season.   The first was in October 2007,  when Vidic was taken to hospital  after a blow to his head early in the first half of  the Premiership win over Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford.   Our defender took a whack to his cheekbone during an aerial challenge with Marcus Bent.   Characteristically, Vidic tried to play on, but had difficulty with his vision, and after consultation on the sideline with Sir Alex and the medical staff, was forced to leave the game.  He was on the injury list for over two weeks at that time. 
The second incident was in May at Stamford Bridge when his face connected with Didier Drogbas knee in a challenge to clear the ball.   The blow sent one of Vidics teeth slicing through his lip, and bloodied and obviously woozy, he was stretchered off.  The concussion put the defender onto the injury list for another couple of anxious weeks. 
Vidic said at the time in an interview with The Mirror,  I am coming to realise that when I challenge for the ball I have to be better at protecting myself from injury.
I dont protect myself enough. I leave myself too open for players to kick me and when I challenge for headers I dont tend to raise my elbows for protection - and in English football that can be a big problem.
In the last four months I have had two concussions and a knee injury - and that is not good for me.
I dont think about protecting myself because I am an honest guy. I am aggressive on the pitch, but I always go to try to win the ball. Maybe because of that I am getting hurt.
While we can applaud Vidics courage and aggressiveness - long may it continue - we have to be concerned at the same time about the history of concussion that our player has sustained.  (And though Im not positive,   I understand that Vidic suffered concussions previous to his arrival at Old Trafford, during his European playing days.)
A concussion is a cumulative injury.  Its not a simple knock on the head and a headache. The more of them a patient suffers, the more prone he is to suffer additional concussions, with worsening effects.  The most serious consequence is permanent neurological damage.
I found some interesting guidelines for physicians who are treating athletes with concussion, from the American Academy of Family Physicians.  To suffer two serious concussions in a professional athletes season is considered grave.  Three concussions calls for immediate termination of the season.   (Can you imagine our Champions League final in Moscow without Vidic?  I cant.)
Of course this is nothing that the United medical staff are not fully aware of and have discussed with Nemanja.   No doubt the coaching staff are working with him on ways to protect himself in the future. 
But still I worry.  And perhaps because of my familiarity with professional hockey here in Canada, I worry more than an English supporter might.   Concussion has prematurely ended the playing careers of literally dozens of professional hockey players here in North America.
Id like to know what you think.  Are you worrried about our Serbian centerback?  Will we see a change in Vidics physical playing style this season?  If so, do you think that change will be for the better or worse.

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Hes not worth it. As a public-attention whore and someone whose main concern is to make FIFA look good in the eyes of press and the national associations as well as to help make FIFA more money, Blatter doesnt represent the true opinions of a guardian of football (as FIFA claims itself to be by virtue of being the supreme authority). Hes not worth the column inches printed about his comments today, so were not going to discuss that.
What I will point out is that club football and footballers in general are under attack by the likes of UEFA and FIFA - organisations created to protect international football, not promote club football or the rights of footballers. When Blatter - as FIFA spokesman - talks about slavery in football, in reality hes attacking the power clubs have over the game and how that makes it harder for FIFA to arrange more international competitions and thus promote the game globally. When UEFA (pandering to the clubs by blaming player power instead) talks about spiraling wages, theyre afraid that players will refuse to bend to FIFA / UEFA regulations if their future is secure.

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Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Bradford, Murray, Iglesias, Gresham named on Maxwell watch list: Four members of Oklahoma's football team are on the watch list for the 2008 Maxwell Award. The honor is presented annually to the top player in college football. The Sooners on the list include QB Sam Bradford, TE Jermaine Gresham, WR Juaquin Iglesias and RB Demarco Murray. Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency last season as a freshman. Gresham caught 11 touchdown passes in 2007, to tie for the second-highest figure in school history. Iglesias was OU's top receiver last season in catches and yards with 68 for 907, respectively. He also returned 29 kickoffs for an average of 28.5 yards, a figure that ranked No. 16 nationally. Murray missed Oklahoma's last three games due to a kneecap injury, but was electrifying when he was on the field. He rushed 127 times for 764 yards and 13 touchdowns. Like Iglesias, he was one of the top kick returners in the country with 15 for a 29.3-yard average that ranked No. 7 among Football Bowl Subdivision programs.

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Updated July 6th
Sporting News, Pro Football Weekly, and Fantasy Football index have been added.
Its after the 4th of July and all of the fantasy football magazines have hit the shelf. Which one is the best bet for your Summer reading at the beach? Just remember to use Football Burritos constantly updated rankings for your fantasy draft instead of a magazines 4 month old rankings. Or else youll be the idiot grabbing Cedric Benson or Travis Henry while your buddies laugh at you.

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While I hate the term "Football Factory" when applied to a University, the fact remains that there are certain schools that, year-in, year-out, produce a slew of talented NFL players. The NFL network recently aired an episode of their "Top Ten" show that counted down the top football factories. With this being the slow season, I thought I'd try to take a deeper look at their list, and see whether they were really accurate in their assessment, or whether it is just more hype.

Here is the list of teams on the NFL Network list:

10. Tennessee

9. MAC Conference

8. Syracuse

7. Penn State

6. Alabama

5. Michigan

4. Ohio State

3. Notre Dame

2. Miami

1. USC

I'm going to break this down, and try to determine which teams really do the best job of sending successful players to the NFL. I'm going to look at not just number of players drafted, but also Pro Bowlers, Superbowl MVPs, and the best players at the various positions to come up with my own list.

First, let's break down the numbers of some perennial powerhouses in my analysis:

Southern Cal
Total players drafted: 450
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 43
Superbowl MVPs: 2 - Lynn Swann (X), Marcus Allen (XVIII)
Hall of Famers: 11
Quarterback:
Running Back: O.J. Simpson*, Reggie Bush, Marcus Allen*, Frank Gifford*
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Keyshawn Johnson, Lynn Swann*, Morris (Red) Badgro*
Offensive Line: Bruce Matthews*, Anthony Munoz*, Ron Yary*, Ron Mix*
Defensive Line:
Linebacker: Lofa Tatupu, Junior Seau
Defensive Secondary: Ronnie Lott*, Willie Wood*

Notre Dame
Total players drafted: 461
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 40
Superbowl MVPs: 3 - Joe Montana (XVI, XIX, XXIV)
Hall of Famers: 9
Quarterback: Joe Montana*, Joe Theismann
Running Back: Paul Hornung*, John McNally*, Jerome Bettis
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Dave Casper*, Tim Brown
Offensive Line: George Trafton*, Jeff Faine, Aaron Taylor
Defensive Line: Alan Page*, Wayne Milner*, Chris Zorich
Linebacker: George Connor*, Nick Buoniconti*
Defensive Secondary:

Miami
Total players drafted: 293
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 53
Superbowl MVPs: 2 - Ottis Anderson (XXV), Ray Lewis (XXXV)
Hall of Famers: 4
Quarterback: Vinny Testaverde, Bernie Kosar, Jim Kelly*
Running Back: Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Michael Irvin*
Offensive Line: Jim Otto*
Defensive Line
Linebacker: Ted Hendricks*, Ray Lewis
Defensive Secondary: Sean Taylor, Ed Reed

Ohio State
Total players drafted: 383
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 49
Superbowl MVPs: 0
Hall of Famers: 5
Quarterback
Running Back: Eddie George
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Paul Warfield*, Dante Lavelli*
Offensive Line: Jim Parker*, Lou Groza*, Bill Willis*
Defensive Line
Linebacker
Defensive Secondary

Michigan
Total players drafted: 330
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 51
Superbowl MVPs: 3 - Desmond Howard (XXXI), Tom Brady (XXXVI, XXXVIII)
Hall of Famers: 4
Quarterback: Benny Friedman*, Tom Brady
Running Back:
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Bill Hewitt*
Offensive Line: Dan Dierdorf*, Tom Mack*
Defensive Line:
Linebacker:
Defensive Secondary:

Alabama
Total players drafted: 276
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 25
Superbowl MVPs: 3 - Bart Starr (I, II), Joe Namath (III)
Hall of Famers: 6
Quarterback: Joe Namath*, Bart Starr*, Ken Stabler
Running Back: Shaun Alexander
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Don Hutson*, Ozzie Newsome*
Offensive Line: Dwight Stephenson*, John Hannah*
Defensive Line
Linebacker: Cornelius Bennett
Defensive Secondary

Oklahoma
Total players drafted: 334
Current number of players on NFL rosters: 31
Superbowl MVPs: 0.5 - Troy Aikman (XXVII) drafted out of UCLA, started college in OK
Hall of Famers: 2
Quarterback:
Running Back: Adrian Peterson
Wide Receiver / Tight End: Tommy McDonald*
Offensive Line:
Defensive Line: Lee Roy Selmon*
Linebacker
Defensive Secondary


After looking at the players from each team through the years, it becomes apparent that there are two schools head and shoulders above the others: USC and Notre Dame.

Southern Cal actually edges Notre Dame on the resume recently, pouring players into the NFL in recent years, with a strong history going back to the 70s. Notre Dame's history goes back much further, but has not been as strong in recent years.

Notre Dame, however, has the best spread of players to come out of its system. USC is heavy on the offensive skill positions, except for QB. Miami is strong in offensive and defensive skill positions, but lacks the inside linemen. Notre Dame (with the lone exception in the defensive secondary) has produced multiple standouts (often multiple HOF-ers) at each position group.

Therefore, after close consideration, my ranking would be as follows:

1. Southern Cal
2. Notre Dame
3. Miami (FL)
4. Ohio State
5. Michigan
6. Alabama
7.

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Hi  Guys,
Let me introduce myself, my name is Mike Hinden and I  have lived in Liverpool all my life, Im an out and out REDS fan and I have  been a season ticket holder for about 50 yes 50 years (yes Im an old f-rt)  but with a very active mind as far as LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL CLUB is concerned  LOL. I reckon Im one of the very few people LUCKY people who have seen four  out of our five European Champions Cup wins that we have. I attend all the  games at Anfield with my adult son Justin and I have only missed one game  (and that was Chavski in the CL game last April as I had done my knee in and  could not walk) in the last 15 or so years, I go to all the Premiership,  Champions League FA Cup and some not all the Caring Cup.
I recently returned from a holiday (vacation to you) in  Israel where a met a Canadian guy call Mel Silverstone (he approach me on  the beach as I was wearing at the time my LFC shirt) and we spent a few  hours together having a drink or two or three of milk (thats my story and  Im sticking to it LOL)  talking about our REDS,.
I told him and I was the unofficial go between between  our REDS supporters club around the world (South Africa, Australia, Hong  Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and a few in the USA) and he asked do I correspond  or have any Canadians in my list and when I said that I havent he suggested  I should make contact and say what I do for RED fans all over the world, so  I went into the clubs web site and got your email addresses so I hope that  none of you all are offended with my liberty of sending you this email.
What I do voluntary is this wherever anyone wants to  visit Liverpool to see a game either a group from the official branch or  just a few days  holiday trip by a couple or a few guys I arrange  transport from and to Manchester (I dont like saying that word LOL) airport  as I have several taxi and mini coach firms that I have in my lists, I also  arrange accommodation as I have a number of hotels /guest house etc all with  different rates  some even give me a slightly lower rate depending on  what dates, I also take the guys around to show them all the Liverpool  landmarks and if there are four or less I take them in my own car but if  there are more I have a guy with a 7 seater who has very reasonable charges  (or they were B4 the fuel prices went sky high) I also book them in for the  stadium and museum tour (this is obviously a must for everyone). I have many  POOL DVDs and videos and if time allows I invite any guys back to my home in  Childwall which is in south Liverpool to watch whatever they choose and have  lots of chats a few drinks and we get a take away meal and this offer is  open to any of your own members and any of you as well if they want to make  contact with me
I also on the odd occasion can get two tickets for home  matches only but these get booked up by other guys from around the world in  my footie list rather quickly. and finally after EVERY match both home and  away I ALWAYS send my own completely unbiased match report, I dont use any  flannel if a player has a bad game I say that they have a bad game and if a  player has an outstanding game I say that as well of course. Being in  Liverpool we sometimes hear footy news B4 it reaches any web sites through  the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post and also through our local radio station,  generally when they have any LFC transfer its nearly always spot  on.
News
So guys if you want to forward my this email on to your  members and if they (and any of you of course)  would like me to put  any email addresses in my list OR if anyone is contemplating a trip to the  Pool during this coming season and would like to meet up with a true SCOUSER  or have any questions they only have to ask, if no one wants to then thats  OK too.
My best to you all.
Mike (Hinden)  mikehinden@btinternet.

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Edwin Van Der Sar, Holland captain says that his team gave a display of how to play modern football during the Euro 2008 tournament.He also said that witnessing Greece win the title 4 years ago was disheartening as they played very negatively and went through the whole tournament stealing single goal victories.

During this tournament the Dutch team gave a world class lesson in how to attack. They beat France, Italy and Romania with a total of 9 goals. Many bookmakers had them as favourites to win the tournament.

Unfortunately, a win was not to be, Holland were beaten by Russia in their quarter final. The final score was 3-1 to Russia after extra time. Holland may be out of the competition but they are proud of what they achieved.

Van Der Sar, who plays for Manchester United at club level says that Holland, and Russia both played football the way it is meant to be played.

He said,When teams play defensive football it is boring, attacking is what gets results and it also makes for a more exciting game. Even when behind some teams play with everyone behind the ball, what's the point? Russia have always been renowned for being a very disciplined but boring team. However, since Guus Hiddink from Holland became their coach they have radically changed their playing style.
It was both Hiddink's reform of the Russian team and also his inside knowledge of how Holland play that enabled Russia to win. They did so in spectacular style, they took the lead early on and it only went to extra time thanks to a daring header from Ruud Van Nistlerooy.Russia however, completely dominated the extra 30 minutes and scored twice more to end Holland's competition.Van Der Sar has now retired from international football but he does so with his head held high, proud that he has helped change the way football was played by the Dutch team. It can only lead to bigger and better things for Holland, and more exciting live football for the fans.

News the best top 10 >>> football

The University Interscholastic League on Wednesday announced Houston's Reliant Stadium will be the new host of the Class 5A Division I and II state football championship games.
Reliant Stadium will take the place of the Alamodome in San Antonio.
"We're excited about Reliant Stadium hosting the 5A football finals this season," UIL athletic director Dr. Charles Breithaupt said in a statement. "We will work closely with Reliant Park in creating a first-class championship experience for the schools, fans and students involved in the games.
"The people at Reliant Park and in Houston have always been very supportive of high school sports, and we look forward to having a successful championship event at Reliant Stadium."
The 2008 5A Division II championship will be played at 2 p.m., and the 5A Division I championship will be played at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20.

Posted by Damon L.

News >>> football

By Ivan Orozco | ivan.orozco@tlnews.net
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The run for a San Diego Section football title game has begun.
Its only June, and the start of the regular season is about three months away. But grueling preparation for the opening kickoff has already begun.
The Oceanside Pirates and a handful of other area teams took advantage of the San Diego State passing league tournament this past weekend.
The 32-team, seven-on-seven, two-day tournament didnt give a true glimpse of what teams will look like during the regular season. Theres no hitting, players wear T-shirts and shorts. But passing league helps showcase talent at skilled positions.
Passing league, in a lot of ways, teaches us a lot of things about our team, said Pirates coach John Carroll, whose team lost 20-19 to Cienega of Vail, Ariz., in Sundays White Bracket title game.
A lot of things are unrealistic. But what is realistic is the level of competitiveness our kids bring. That among other things is what you can take with you into the regular season.
Oceanside, which is preparing to defend its fourth-straight Division II section championship this season, reached the White Bracket final by winning three straight.
The Pirates played four back-to-back games Sunday in 90-degree weather and temperatures that probably reached the century mark on the turf at SDSUs Sports Complex.
Oceanside went 2-0-1 in pool play Saturday, the first day of competition.
re used to 70-degree weather, Carroll said. If its 80, its already too hot for us; its not Pirates weather. The heat and tiredness was a factor.
Carroll was referring to the Pirates tiring out in their game against Cienega, which went on to lose to Chaparral of Scottsdale, Ariz., in the tournament final.
A tiring Pirates squad couldnt convert the extra point play that would have tied the game at 20 with less than a minute to go and force a possible overtime, keeping them out of a second-straight tournament final. Oceanside won last years tournament.
After the game, Carroll pointed out to his team what an important factor fatigue can be and a regular game can come down to one play and thats why passing league competition is important.
s nothing else you can do but learn your role on the team here, said Pirates middle linebacker Justin Vaeena. You cant hit anybody. Its all a matter of getting used to each other. As a linebacker, you have to be ready for any kind of offense.
The Pirates defense saw a number of formations and schemes last weekend, having to adjust on the spot without preparation. Thats another point Carroll emphasized, explaining how what they learned could help during the season, but he explained that building chemistry with teammates is the priority in passing league.
re out here feeling each others game out and getting down our timing in passing patterns, said Valley Center quarterback Tyler Benard. (Wide receiver James Johnson) and I are working on getting that down. That will be big down the line to win or lose.
The Valley Center Jaguars reached the semifinals of the Black Bracket, where they lost to Chaparral 38-32 in overtime.
Vista, El Camino and Mission Hills also competed in the SDSU tournament.
Mission Hills was ousted in the White Bracket quarterfinals by Diamond Ranch of Pomona (27-24), and Vista reached the quarters in the Black Bracket, where it lost to Valley Center (46-41). El Camino was eliminated in the first playoff round by Oceanside (33-18).
Area teams are scheduled to continue early summer workouts and passing league competition for a month.
This summers no-contact period in the section is from July 21 to Aug. 3. High school coaches and their athletes are not allowed contact with each other during those two weeks. That period begins after the North County passing league tournament July 18 and 19.
Reach reporter Ivan Orozco at (760) 752-6758.

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Americano top 10 >>> football

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At 16 years and 177 days, Cesc Fabregas became the youngest player to ever feature for an Arsenal first team, playing in the League Cup match against Rotherham United. Less than two months later, in just his second appearance for the club, he scored a goal, in the 5-1 thrashing of the Wolves, again in the Carling Cup. In fact, Wengers record of using the Carling Cup to numerous young players has been the cornerstone of Arsenals recent success and would have been the cornerstone of future success. Youth players all want to play for Arsenal, because theres just no better footballing education in the world right now: Fabregas proves that.
But jealousy, hindsight, and nationalism have conspired in the form of FIFA and UEFA to rob children of their right to have access to that world class education. Yesterday, FIFA and UEFA announced that there will soon be a rule that will forbid anyone under the age of 18 from signing a professional contract outside of their home country. Imagine an agreement made by world tennis that forced youth to only play tennis in their home country. Imagine an agreement made by some educational governing body that would deny children the right to attend university outside of their home country, just because they arent 18. This proposal stinks, its bad for clubs, its bad fot players, and its bad for world football.
Clubs like Barcelona have always been angry that Arsenal their young talent, develop them, and sell them back on the market for hundreds of times the value that Arsenal paid for them. But it wasnt theft, because teams like Arsenal take extraordinary risks bringing a 16 year old into the academy. Risks that Barcelona admitted they wouldnt have taken. Since Arsenal took the risks, since they played Cesc when he was just 16, they deserve the reward.
The player too took a risk, he left the comfort of his homeland, learned another language, braved the English weather, the food, the Martin Taylors, and came to a club with just the slim promise of maybe playing football if he worked hard enough to warrant it. Its only jealous hindsight that a team like Barca would be angry over the signing of Cesc Fabregas; after all, if they wanted to take those risks, they could have signed him. So, FIFA and UEFA are hoping this proposal will pass by playing up clubs jealousy and hindsight.
But, in order to get the fans on board and in order to get each countrys national directors of football on board, they are also wrapping this whole disgusting proposal in the tattered flag of nationalism. What a disgrace; dragging the corpse of Englands Euro 2008 campaign out as the example of the system gone awry. Who cares what England did or didnt do in Euro 2008? Is it because some fans and directors need to wrap themselves in the Union Jack, paint their faces with St. Georges Cross, and re-live some nationalistic dream of beating the dirty huns or the Is that why they are susceptible to the way this plan holds promoting national football out as the goal?
This is not about how well your national will team do. FIFA and UEFA dont give a rats ass how well a particular team does. What they care about is enriching their coffers at the expense of club football. Thats what this is about; glorifying FIFA at the expense of club football and club football players. They see the wealth generated by the multicultural, multinational corporation that is the EPL and are using everything in their power to destroy that in order to put football back in the drivers seat. They want their piece of the pie back.
What will the outcome of this fevered plan be? I suspect that nations with well developed footballing schools will get immeasurably better and nations without such schools, immeasurably worse. The rich will get richer, the poor poorer. FIFA and UEFA dont care, as long as they get richer.
Brazilian children who have little hope to escape the poverty of their homeland will be stripped of the hope of a great education at a team like Arsenal. American children will certainly get worse; having to play in challenger leagues here, or hold out hope to go to college and play college ball. This scenario will be repeated over and over again in small countries with underdeveloped football infrastructure.
In short, world footballing opportunities just got worse, not better. Make no mistake, national teams will suffer as well because players get better as they are introduced to a diversity of playing and teaching styles and forcing kids to play one way, with the other kids they grew up with is stultifying to say the least. I hate to sound like George W. Bush, but freedom is whats best for the players, the clubs, and ultimately the national team and this proposal is authoritarianism at its worst.
Lets all hope that some 16 year old brings a law suit as soon as this plan is implemented, because theres no court in the world that would uphold such a ridiculous proposal.

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TAMPA - Some of the women wanted more out of their lives, others just wanted a chance in front of a camera. The more serious competitors thrive on athletics and jumped at the chance to be part of a team. Inside a cavernous warehouse in an office park west of Brandon, 40 candidates for a fledgling womens football league sweated out drills testing their speed, strength and endurance. They jumped, ran, pivoted and ran again.
I am passionate about this, said Jill Papapanu, an out-of-work executive assistant who spends most of her time these days keeping in shape. She wasnt concerned about the implications of playing for the Lingerie Football League. I work hard for this body. We all do. Were proud of how we look.
It seems like once a generation someone feels the need to take a stab at one of these upstart football leagues to challenge the NFL. The USFL lasted three years, sued the NFL for anti-trust, won, and was awarded $1 in damages. The XFL lasted one year and ended with TV ratings lower than one of those real estate infomercials with the talking cartoon fox.
 
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TAMPA - Some of the women wanted more out of their lives, others just wanted a chance in front of a camera. The more serious competitors thrive on athletics and jumped at the chance to be part of a team. Inside a cavernous warehouse in an office park west of Brandon, 40 candidates for a fledgling womens football league sweated out drills testing their speed, strength and endurance. They jumped, ran, pivoted and ran again.
I am passionate about this, said Jill Papapanu, an out-of-work executive assistant who spends most of her time these days keeping in shape. She wasnt concerned about the implications of playing for the Lingerie Football League. I work hard for this body. We all do. Were proud of how we look.
It seems like once a generation someone feels the need to take a stab at one of these upstart football leagues to challenge the NFL. The USFL lasted three years, sued the NFL for anti-trust, won, and was awarded $1 in damages. The XFL lasted one year and ended with TV ratings lower than one of those real estate infomercials with the talking cartoon fox.

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LOCKPORT Nikko Carson, Greg Gonsoulin, Nolan Scott and Chris Wilson all were standouts on the football field for Lockport High School during the past two years.
Now that group gets the opportunity to not only compete in the sport at the next level, but also do it either playing with or against one another.
Gonsoulin and Carson will be going to Valparaiso University while Wilson and Scott are headed for Drake University. Both schools are members of the Pioneer Football League.
s real exciting to be going to Valparaiso, Gonsoulin said. I might be one of the top running backs, so I could start, and they have a nice coach and their players are close. And academically, they have one of the best meteorology programs in the country.
With the addition of Tom Hart, who will go to Coe College, the Porter football program has five players who plan to play college football.
That group joins the 13 other Lockport male athletes who made their college plans known during a special ceremony at the school last week.
Three Porters will be going on in baseball while two apiece plan to continue their careers in basketball, golf and water polo.
Two players who have helped made history for Lockports basketball teams the past three years, Brian Bradley and Justin Jarosz, both will play in college.
Bradley will attend Butler University while Jarosz plans to continue his education and career at Lewis University.
I like the coach and the campus so I look forward to going to Lewis, Jarosz said. They also recruited kids from Stagg and Sandburg, so it will be great playing with them again. Also, having the chance to play there in my first year made my decision easier.
Baseball players who are moving on are Josh Stanton (Central College), Steve Sabatino (Notre Dame) and Mike Frigo (Western Michigan).
Western went out of its way to make sure that I knew everything about the school, Frigo said. Their baseball program is pretty good so it will be a nice place to play ball at. This has been my dream since I was a little kid so I cant wait for the opportunity.
Water polo players Ben Bentley (University of Illinois) and Ryan Oldendorf (Iona College) are the first from their program to play the sport in college.
m really excited about playing in college, Oldendorf said. In eighth grade I played baseball and didnt know what water polo was, so I never thought this is what Id do. Iona is a beautiful school, the coach was interested in me and the team was friendly.
Signs of the times
By Curt Herron, Special to The Herald News
Photo Credit: Herald News File Photo
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/sports/932812,4_2_JO06_LOCKPORT_S1.

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Renaissance means rebirth. When was there ever competitive football in the county on par with the surrounding counties?
We are excited with the hire but please, no lovey-dovey stories about a win over teams we should always beat. No half page articles that have us winning state championships when we cant even win something no one outside of Lenoir County has even heard of. I think we can have a successful season but lets try and keep everything in perspective and at an even keel.

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